The Joys in Living a Cursed Life
by Padawan Maxine Skywalker
Summary: AU. Mavis didn't die from the kiss. Series of one-shots from the lives of Zeref, Mavis, and their son, August.
1. Walking

"August! Come here, August!" Mavis called. The boy in question stood a yard away, his small hands holding on to a tree to keep himself up.

"Come on August! You can do it! Come to Mommy!"

"How about Daddy helps you start?"

Mavis smiled widely at the black-haired man who walked out of the trees into the clearing where Mavis and August were.

"Zeref!"

"Hello Mavis. Teaching August to walk?"

"Yup! He's been trying on his own. I'm just giving him a little push."

"Well, I think it's okay if I give him a hand."

"Of course!"

Zeref walked over to his son and knelt next to him.

"Hello August. I'm going give you a hand, okay? You just have to walk to Mommy, okay? Here, hold my hand."

August gripped two of his father's fingers as Zeref stood up.

"Okay, August. Slow at first. One foot in front of the other. That's it. Okay, ready to go on your own? Straight to Mommy, okay August?"

The duo walked a bit faster before August let go of his father's fingers and ran straight to his mother's arms as fast as his short legs would allow him to. Mavis immediately pulled her son into her arms for a hug and a smothering of kisses.

"Good job August! Mommy is so proud of you!"

Zeref walked over and sat next to the blondes.

"Daddy is too, August." The man said, pressing a kiss to the boy's head and rubbing his back.

The toddler in question looked up at his parents, blinking his large black eyes, before closing them with a wide grin that he inherited from his father.

"Augus wuvs you Mommy! Augus wuvs you Daddy!"

"We love you too August."

"Yes. We love you _sooooo_ much."

August giggled as his parents both began pressing kisses to his face, which quickly evolved into a tickle war. (Zeref won. Both August and Mavis were extremely ticklish.)

That night Mavis and Zeref started to regret teaching their son to walk, as he quickly had learned how to run from them, and therefore bedtime. Not to mention, the boy was already very clever.

"August! August, come back! Where are you my little fairy?"

"August, come back! August!"

August smirked from his hiding spot. Sure, his parents thought he had just ran off into the woods, but honestly he was in the most comfortable place he knew: Mommy and Daddys' bed!


	2. Little Kicks

"Zeref! Zeref!" Mavis called, searching for her immortal lover. The black-haired mage quickly ran to her from the woods, a worried expression over his face.

"Mavis? What's wrong? Are you alright? Did you hurt yourself? Is it the baby? Are they okay?"

Mavis laughed, shaking her head.

"No! No, nothings wrong. Honestly, you worry to much Zeref!"

Zeref shook his head, relieved. Taking Mavis' hand, he led her to a fallen log.

"Come on. Sit down, Mavis. You're seven months pregnant. You really shouldn't be running around so much."

"Almost seven months, Zeref. Not quite. Besides, I'm fine, and so is the baby. Aren't you, my little miracle?" Mavis asked, rubbing her middle as Zeref sat down beside her. Gently, he too laid a hand on her abdomen, the other rubbing circles on her back.

"All the same, you should be careful. It's unlikely that you'll miscarry at this stage, but it is possible. You don't eat enough as it is."

"For a mage most famous for his black magic and demons, you sure know a lot about pregnancy."

Zeref chuckled forlornly.

"Yes, well, a very, very long time ago there was a little boy who was _really_ excited to be a big brother, and as such made it his personal duty to look out and care for his poor pregnant mother while his father fought in a war."

"You must have been pretty excited."

Zeref nodded.

"Yes. I was… four? Yes. I was four years old when my brother was born. My family lived in the outskirts of our city, so there weren't a lot of children nearby. I didn't get along well with the children there were. They thought I was… odd. I suppose I was, for a four-year-old. Not very playful. I liked to read, draw, and spend time with my mother. So when I learned that I was to be a big brother, I was very excited. I'm excited to be a father too."

Mavis smiled at him.

"You'll be a wonderful father."

Zeref smiled at her, a gently pressed his lips to hers.

"Thank you." He murmured, his eyes closed.

"Of course." She whispered back. "Ah!"

Zerefs' eyes shot open and he stared at the blonde as she grimaced.

"Mavis! Mavis, what's wrong?"

Mavis smiled and opened one eye to look at him.

"I thought you knew all about pregnancies?"

"Yes! Everything people in Sin knew about them _300 years ago!_ I don't know everything in general! And there may be stuff I've forgotten! It has been 300 years Mavis! Are you _okay?_ I'm panicking!"

"Calm down. This actually has to do with why I called you over in the first place."

"Is there something wrong?"

Mavis laughed, placing a hand on Zerefs' cheek.

"No! No, the baby's kicking. And you should be able to feel it now, if you place your hands in the right spot."

Zerefs' eyes went wide and his mouth hung open for a moment, before giving way to a large, fanged grin.

"Really?"

"Really. Here, give me your hands."

Mavis placed both of Zerefs' hands on her middle, her own on top of them as she moved them, her eyes closed. After a minute or so, she stopped and opened her eyes.

"Hold them there."

Zeref did, eyes staring at his own hands, before there was suddenly a pressure against his left palm.

"Oh…"

"Do you feel it? "

Zeref merely nodded, speechless for a moment.

"Mavis… Mavis, it's _amazing._ "

"Isn't it? I was super surprised when I first felt it. I mean, I've been feeling movement for months. But I was just sort of rubbing it and- Zeref? Zeref, are you alright? You're crying."

"Ye-yes. I'm just… overwhelmed. Thank you Mavis. Thank you thank you thank you." Zeref sobbed, wrapping his arms around Mavis. She smiled back, returning the hug and pressing a kiss to his cheek.

"I love you too Zeref."


	3. Wedding

I don't own Fairy Tail

Zeref smiled, watching Mavis as she frolicked in a field full of flowers. Their curse was being lenient it seemed; neither of them had expelled any death magic for almost two hours now. It was a beautiful day too, early September, the air still warm, flowers in bloom, the sun was shining with only a few fluffy white clouds dotting the sky. Zeref closed his eyes and leaned his head back, allowing a gentle wind to run through his dark hair.

"Zeref! Zeref!"

Mavis' sudden shout had the dark mage bolting upright, concerned. He relaxed upon seeing the blondes' wide smile as she raced towards him, waving a bouquet of wildflowers in her grasp. She came to a sudden stop before him.

"I just thought of something!" She declared excitedly. Zeref smiled and stood up, brushing off his robe and toga.

"What?" he inquired.

"We should get married!" she exclaimed, grabbing his hands so that her bouquet was held between them. Zeref blinked, trying to determine if he had heard her correctly. Judging by her eager face, yes, he had.

"I'm not opposed to it, but I'm not sure we can." He told her gently. Mavis frowned.

"Why not?"

"Because there are a lot of legalities involved in getting married, and we can't exactly walk to the nearest courthouse to do it." Mavis slumped over in disappointment, letting go of Zeref's hands.

"I hadn't thought of that." She muttered. Zeref pushed a lock of hair behind her ear, before gently cupping her face. Mavis bit her lip, before looking back up at him hopefully.

"Can we have a wedding with everything besides that though? I mean, we couldn't invite anyone, which is sad, but we could do a bunch of the other things, right? We could wear nice clothing, give each other rings, and hold hands while exchanging vows, and then kiss! We could do that, right? And call each other husband and wife?"

Zeref smiled at her and let out a small laugh.

"Of course we can."

Mavis cheered and began twirling around.

"Really? Oh, it's going to be wonderful! We'll have to find some other clothes and rings, but it'll be great! We'll have to write vows too. And figure out where we should get married. Oh! And I get to change my name! I'll be Mavis… Mavis…" Fairy Tail's first master stopped twirling with a frown and turned towards Zeref.

"What is your last name anyway? You've never told me."

Zeref smirked at her.

"I'll tell you when we get married."

Of course, it took about a week and a half before the pair had everything they deemed absolutely necessary to get married. They probably could have done it in less than a week, but Mavis had been plagued with illness which prevented her from finishing the alterations to the clothes they had gotten for their wedding. But there they were, dressed in white, at an old Sinian Temple. According to Zeref, it was the Temple of Ria, the goddess of marriage, children, pregnancy, familial love, and fertility. Every marriage he could remember from his childhood had taken place here, among the tall marble pillars and before the large statue of the goddess. Zeref and Mavis glanced at each other, before turning to face the statue. Zeref bent over in a low bow, Mavis quickly following suit.

"Goddess Ria, we ask for your blessing on our union, as you have done for many before us. Please be a witness as we make our vows, and ensure our prosperity and health, till death do we part." Zeref and Mavis slowly stood up, before turning to face each other, grasping the others hands with their own.

"I, Zeref, take you, Mavis, as my wife, to love, to protect, to cherish, to care for. I vow to respect you, as both my partner and my equal. I vow to love you through good and ill, to support you, and to remain faithful to you, to the end of my days." Zeref pledged, holding his head high, as he looked into Mavis' gaze, eyes bright. She smiled up at him, before repeating the words back to him.

"I, Mavis, take you, Zeref, as my husband, to love, to protect, to cherish, to care for. I vow to respect you, as both my partner and my equal. I vow to love you through good and ill, to support you, and to remain faithful to you, to the end of my days."

The pair squeezed their hands before letting go, each producing a ring. Zeref gently took Mavis' left hand in his palm, sliding the ring on. Mavis bit her lip as she took Zeref's hand, sliding the ring on. The pair grinned happily.

"May I?" Zeref whispered, carefully grasping the edges of her veil.

"Of course." Mavis replied with a smile. Zeref eagerly lifted the veil, cupping her face. Mavis brought her own palms to his cheeks. In unison, the couple closed their eyes and pressed their lips together. Slowly, they broke apart, eyes only open.

"I love you, Mavis Dragneel." Zeref whispered. Mavis' eyes went wide as she looked at her new husband.

"And I love you, Zeref Dragneel." She replied reverently. Zeref closed his eyes and chuckled.

"Ready to go to Tenrou for our honeymoon?" he asked. Mavis beamed.

"Yes! Let's go let's go let's go!" She exclaimed. Zeref laughed as she dragged him away from the temple. He wrapped his arms around the small girl.

"Ready?" Mavis nodded, throwing her arms around his neck. Zeref bent over her, and the two disappeared from Sin in a black ball of magic.

A beautiful woman smiled ruefully at where the newlyweds had disappeared from her spot at the foot of the statue.

"Of course I bless your union, Zeref and Mavis Dragneel. I will provide whatever happiness I can give you, for the curse my younger brother has laid upon you. It is a heavy burden indeed. May your union be happy and fruitful." The woman suddenly giggled, "Though, judging by the state of our dear young Mavis, you won't need any assistance with the second part."

Turning to face her statue, Ria smiled.

"More Dragneels. Oh, Ankhersam will be furious with how this has backfired on him. Ha! Serves him right. Best of luck to you, Zeref and Mavis."


End file.
